Prepare For All Out Tsar War!

15 October 2013 - California, USA/…
Perihelion Interactive today unveiled the
Character Prologue Creator
for its Tsarist space opera RPG
The Mandate. This proof-of-concept tool joins the
already available
Ship Designer and Destruction
Tech Demos, allowing gamers to see for themselves how the
elements will work in the six-player, cooperative, sandbox sci-fi
RPG, planned for release Q1 2015 on Windows, Mac and Linux.

The Mandate is set in a dystopian future
controlled by a Russian Empire inspired by the Tsars of history.
You take on the role of a captain at the helm of an evolving,
dynamic ship that a crew of hundreds call home. As captain,
you’ll command a crew of officers selected and honed by you,
taking them into epic space battles, boarding operations and galaxy
exploration. Whilst epic in scale,
The Mandate takes the concept of sci-fi RPGs to
the next level by rooting the drama in your relationship with the
crew – they and the galaxy map will adapt and react to the
strategic choices you make, the battles you win… and those
that you lose.

Ole Herbjørnsen, Executive Producer, Perihelion
Interactive said:

“In
The Mandate, players take on the role of a
disgraced captain called into action under a sense of desperation.
The Character Prologue Creator allows players to pick the events
leading up to their court martial and sentencing. The game starts a
few years later when the player is released from prison.

“Depending on what they choose to have done, their faction
standing will change dramatically. They can pick the planets that
they explored, the tasks they undertook, and the crimes they
committed. Once the game is released, players can continue to be a
thorn in the side of The Mandate, work with the rebels, act within
the law… or however they choose to explore.”

Drawing inspiration from the likes of
X-Com, Fallout, Mount & Blade, Sid Meier’s
Pirates! and
Star Trek Online,
The Mandate has already raised an impressive
$95,000 in its
Kickstarter campaign, due to
end on 1st December 2013. The Perihelion team is comprised of
industry veterans, who have previously worked on projects including
Assassin's Creed, Assassin's Creed II,Mafia II,
Far Cry 2,
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures,
Call of Duty 3 and
The Secret World.

The game is planned for a Q1 2015 release and can either be
played solo, or with five other friends for additional strategic
and tactical challenges. Perihelion has designed the game to be a
no-compromise experience for multiplayer and single-player, and
players should not notice a difference in enjoyment level or depth
playing either alone or with friends.

Founded in 2013 by a team of internationally based veteran game
developers, Perihelion Interactive’s first project is the
science fiction RPG
The Mandate. Members of the Perihelion team have
previously worked on projects including
Assassin's Creed 1 and
2,
Mafia 2,
Far Cry 2,
Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures,
Call of Duty 3 and
The Secret World.

Press enquiries please contact:

Stu Taylor

Dead Good Media

E: hello@deadgoodmedia.com

T: +44 (0)7780 600 728

---------------

The Mandate’s Unique Features

- When a hull breach occurs,
your men will be visibly ejected into space from whatever part of
the ship has been damaged, as you can already see from our tech
demo.

- From an isometric view,
watch your crew react dynamically to your leadership. Perhaps they
salute you, or maybe you get the cold shoulder.

- Each system and sub-system
are manned by a concurrent, named crew. You’ll notice when
one disappears, or is killed

- There are similarities
regarding system management to FTL (Faster Than Light), another
popular indie title – however, we’re taking it much
further and placing more emphasis on strategy and statistics than
risk.

- Everything that happens in
space should affect what happens on board. Seamlessly switch
between the isometric inner-ship view, and the external space ship
view. All in real-time.

- RTS boarding operations
take place isometrically,
at the same time as attacks externally (outside the
spaceship). When fighting from the inside, you will lead marines in
a real time strategy environment inspired by
Men of War and
Jagged Alliance. Use environmental hazards to your
advantage, which entails:

- Seamless cooperative
dynamic fights. With up to five friends, attack from space whilst
your friends board enemy ships, or board as your friends defend
you. Everyone can attack from space, or everyone can board multiple
ships – all in real time. It’s entirely up to you.

The Mandate features a rich lore, featuring 1,500
years of history prior to any player involvement at the beginning
of the game. Notes on the current factions can be read
here, and the first developer article on
‘The Dynamics of Crewmanship’
charters Perihelion's player interaction design.

---------------

How To Use The Character Prologue Creator

With
The Mandate featuring 1,500 years of lore,
trickled out during the 60-day Kickstarter campaign in
The Empress’s Twitter feed (written by a
top videogame story writer), the Character Prologue Creator might
be more in depth than the average RPG. Please refer to the
following as a guide:

- Since the assets are
streamed, the intro form acts as a loading screen. Click
‘Skip’ to start the process.

- The first page introduces
the road-map notes, so have a browse, then click close.

- Presented with four
factions, the player must choose which Colony Ship he hails from.
The chosen Colony Ship determines the player’s culture. At
the moment four factions are apparent, but there will be additional
factions added incrementally.

- Each faction has three
family backgrounds that further affect reputation and statistics,
which you can see at the bottom of each family text block.

- Now select your Homeworld,
deeply written into the lore of the game. This adds an extra layer
of individual player depth, enough for six cooperative players to
be completely unique. You’ll get two attribute points +/- in
various areas per choice.

- The classical attribute
point screen. Please note that images are placeholders, and
3D models with cosmetic
changes will be added later in the campaign and development
phase.

- Chronicle your adventure;
choose the planets and path you took, and the choices you made in
your travels, all the while accumulating skills and reputation. You
can click the dossier button or imperial databank at the bottom of
the screen to call up additional information about your character
and the lore for the game.

- Service Record: a summary
of your actions, and the affects of them.

- The Fall: Select the final
straw; the final catalyst before your court martial.

- Your court martial summary
- what the charges are, how the Admirals of the court martial
interpret the Articles of War and their final sentence against
you.

Once you’ve gone through the Character Prologue Creator,
Perihelion advises you to take another look and craft an entirely
new fate. Check the road-map at the start of the presentation in
order to get a sense of what’s being added – there are
some exciting changes on the way! The final screen will take you to
the Ship Designer and Destruction Tech Demo, let you play
The Mandate’s lore and concept trailer, or
publish your captain backstory to Facebook.

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